COVID 19 Care Call-in Helpline. A Report from India

Abstract

A COVID 19 call helpline was established by a noted TV channel along with a group of consultant doctors at the height of the second wave COVID 19 pandemic in India. It helped the general public to understand dos and donts as well as long term implications. We retrospectively analysed the questions asked to get a feel of the misunderstandings and perceptions within the general public. Many quereies related to the vaccination drive.

Covid-19 hotlines, helplines and call centers: a systematic review of characteristics, challenges and lessons learned

“…The highest percentage of questions were about fever and other symptoms that might be connected to Covid-19 (21.8%). 25 Khan et al, 2022 [ 39 ] India Understanding the current problems and perceptions about the Covid-19 pandemic within the public with analyzing the questions asked via the helpline Quantitative Covid-19 helpline/ Public May 14th until May 16th 2021/ From 1–5 PM Teleconsultations to Covid-19 patients Vaccination, Covid-19 queries There was equal distribution of calls from urban as well as rural areas. Urban callers were more interested in vaccination while rural inquiries related more to treatment and follow up of an active disease.…”

“…About one third of the hotlines/helplines/call centers were active 24 h a day [ 29 , 30 , 37 , 41 – 45 , 47 , 51 , 54 – 56 , 61 , 70 ]. The rest of them were available 16 h a day from Monday to Friday, and 9 h a day on Saturday and Sunday [ 71 ],15.5 h a day [ 52 ], 14 h on working days and 7 h on Saturdays [ 67 ], 12 h a day [ 16 , 20 , 31 , 38 , 40 , 49 , 50 , 64 , 68 ], 9 h a day [ 62 , 63 , 65 ], 8 h a day [ 58 , 63 ], 6 h a day [ 55 , 60 ], 4 h a day [ 39 , 59 ], 3 h a day [ 66 ], and the number of hours were not reported in 8 studies [ 17 , 22 , 36 , 46 , 48 , 53 , 57 , 69 ].…”

“…The purposes of using hotlines/helplines/call centers could be categorized in providing psychological support [ 16 , 29 , 30 , 36 – 38 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 45 – 48 , 50 , 58 – 61 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 68 , 69 ], reliable information about Covid-19 [ 17 , 20 , 40 , 41 , 51 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 64 , 67 ], consultation [ 22 , 39 , 40 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 52 , 62 ], and triage services [ 31 , 48 , 49 , 54 , 55 , 70 , 71 ].…”

“…As Table 2 shows, in most studies, the Covid-19 hotlines/helplines/call centers were advertised through the media ( n = 16) including social networks [ 59 , 60 ], social media [ 40 , 49 , 52 , 62 , 69 , 70 ], media outlets [ 49 , 64 ], online official social accounts [ 30 ], social networking websites [ 38 ], Twitter [ 61 ], Facebook [ 16 , 61 ], WeChat public account [ 44 ], WhatsApp groups [ 59 ], national media [ 59 ], TV Channel [ 39 , 49 , 70 ], TV interview [ 60 ], news media [ 44 , 52 ], and media [ 30 , 51 ]. In some studies, local print media [ 38 ], posters [ 61 , 69 , 71 ], newsletters [ 61 ], local newspapers [ 40 , 49 , 52 , 65 ], news bulletins [ 16 ], journalistic notes reporting [ 59 ], and flyers [ 40 , 71 ] were the common ways to introduce the service.…”

“… Mental health professionals Healthcare organization (Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim (CIMH), University of Heidelberg) Not reported 22 Zabrzygraj and Świtaj, 2021 [ 16 ] News bulletins of the Polish Televi sion TVP Info, website, facebook A total of 262 individuals contacting the helpline from March to July 2020. Mental health professionals, social worker Healthcare organization (Warsaw-based Mokotow District Mental Health Center) Not reported 23 Alfatih and Rachmawati, 2022 [ 51 ] Media The number of calls was 2769 from March 14, 2020, to March 29, 2021, Not reported Government and a healthcare organization (The Regional Disaster Relief Agency (BPBD) and the Health Office of DIY) Not reported 24 Egić, 2022 [ 67 ] Not reported Not reported Physicians, mental health professionals Government (The initiative of the “Novi Sad” Mayor) Not reported 25 Khan et al, 2022 [ 39 ] TV Channel Not reported Physicians Government and a healthcare organization (Aaj Tak News Channel and AIMS2Health Private Limited) Not reported 26 Monreal-Bartolomé et al, 2022 [ 68 ] Different administrations and entities A total of 1411 calls were answered in the 46 days that the service was active, with an average of 30.67 calls/day. Mental health professionals Government and a healthcare organization (The Professional College of Psychology of Aragon together with the Department of Health of Aragon and with collaboration from the Rey Ardid Foundation) Not reported 27 ...…”